Query Avalara AvaTax Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect AI to query Avalara AvaTax data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Avalara AvaTax in Connect AI and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect AI provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Avalara AvaTax, allowing you to easily query live Avalara AvaTax data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Avalara AvaTax, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Avalara AvaTax data.

Configure Avalara AvaTax Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Avalara AvaTax from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Avalara AvaTax data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Avalara AvaTax connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "Avalara AvaTax" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Avalara AvaTax.

   The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

   • User: Set this to your username.
   • Password: Set this to your password.

   Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

   • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

   Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

   Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

   • AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
   • LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Avalara AvaTax Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Avalara AvaTax data from Node.js.

Query Avalara AvaTax from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Avalara AvaTax with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Avalara AvaTax (AvalaraAvatax1)

Connect to Avalara AvaTax data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'AvalaraAvatax1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
 if(err){
 throw err ;
 }
 new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Transactions', (err, result) => {
 console.dir(result)
 })
 
});

sql.on('error', err => {
 console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})